Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Shares of Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $126.52 and last traded at $125.77, with a volume of 426337 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on NTRS. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $103.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Northern Trust from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Northern Trust from $98.00 to $92.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Northern Trust from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Northern Trust from $104.00 to $100.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $108.42.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $105.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.69. The firm has a market cap of $24.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The asset manager reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Northern Trust had a net margin of 13.93% and a return on equity of 13.73%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Northern Trust's payout ratio is 27.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northern Trust

In other Northern Trust news, insider Teresa Parker sold 6,467 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.62, for a total transaction of $650,709.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 79,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,988,322.42. The trade was a 7.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Clive Bellows sold 3,300 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.95, for a total transaction of $329,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,872,163.20. This trade represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,772 shares of company stock valued at $981,069. Corporate insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Northern Trust by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,526 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Northern Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $299,000. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its stake in Northern Trust by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 133,724 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $13,707,000 after buying an additional 974 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Northern Trust by 63.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 924 shares of the asset manager's stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.19% of the company's stock.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation, a financial holding company, provides wealth management, asset servicing, asset management, and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals worldwide. It operates in two segments, Asset Servicing and Wealth Management. The Asset Servicing segment offers asset servicing and related services, including custody, fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, investment management, investment risk and analytical services, employee benefit services, securities lending, foreign exchange, treasury management, brokerage services, transition management services, banking, and cash management services.

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